Twist Beam Suspension Design and Analysis for Vehicle Handling and Rollover Behavior

The concept vehicle under study was equipped with a rear twist beam suspension. Apart from designing and analyzing the twist beam for structural integrity, the effects of its directional stiffness values on vehicle dynamic behavior had to be taken into account. The twist beam suspension was initially modeled using beam elements to offer more parametric freedom, followed by DOE and optimization for the target suspension kinematic and compliance (K & C) performances within MBD environment. The data obtained from DOE within the MBD environment, such as the mounting locations, geometrical requirements, etc. were the critical inputs to structural definitions used for constructing the FE model. The resulting FE suspension subsystem was then evaluated for full vehicle performances using typical cornering maneuvers within MBD.